IamTheSovereign
Junior Commander
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Chapter 201 - Kingdom of Steel
Massive buildings tore themselves across the nearby horizon with their bizarre shapes, several of them appearing to be leafless trees rather than construction of mankind. We had crossed over into the border of Cherifia Territory just the other day. It was quite warm, almost as hot as the desert kingdom due to the sun reflecting off the many metallic buildings and into the land. In fact, the majority of the population for this territory consisted of Machine and Android Digimon like Andromon. There weren’t very many Humans, and many of them were mechanics in order to assist the mechanical Digimon with whatever malfunctions they might have.
“This place is like a maze,” Statuedramon said. Around us, Mia, Giselle, Celtinemon, and Reapermon all nodded in agreement. “We’ll have to be careful; none of us have been here before, and there aren’t any cities. It’s like this whole territory is one big city…”
“Thanks to our connection with Omnimon, we were always able to count on Cherifia as an ally, but we’ve still never met the king and queen,” I said. “QueenChessmon and KingChessmon…”
“W-Wait…KingChessmon? Are you sure?” Mia asked. “Hold on…Lizzy told me that she fought against him! Back when we were fighting against Daemon, she fought against him with Eleanora and Sparrow! Is that guy really the king of this place?!”
“Yes…I’ve heard a rumor that the king of Cherifia has been missing for a while; no doubt his alliance with Daemon is to blame,” I said. “Was KingChessmon killed in that battle?”
“No; Lizzy said he just ran away. He was too much of a coward to stay and fight,” Mia said.
“That makes sense; tales of the queen’s valor has spread far and wide throughout the kingdoms,” Reapermon said. “QueenChessmon herself travels just as far to help even total strangers from all kinds of perilous situations.”
“Wow…she sounds just like Lucia!” Giselle said in awe.
“Yeah; except she doesn’t have a violent streak like our Lucy,” Mia sighed. “I’ve heard that she’s as nice and gentle as Larraine!”
“She is; a real hero, that queen. Bold and caring,” Reapermon said sadly.
“Is something wrong, Reapermon?” I asked.
“…You’ll understand when we reach the castle,” Reapermon responded.
“Castle? There is no castle. The queen lives alone in this scrap-heap of iron you see before you.” A tall man, muscular and shirtless, walked up to our group.
“M-May I ask for your name?” I asked. And…did he say the queen lives alone? Everything’s coming together, slowly and steadily… except more slow and less steady. How annoying…
“Yeah. The name’s Craig; part of the Cherifia Royal Army,” the man said, adjusting the violet bandana covering his raven hair. “The queen’s inside right now. Did you have an appointment to see her?”
“We do not, but it is important that we speak with her,” Reapermon said. “We are representatives from the mercenary guild Lachesis.”
“Ah, yeah, I’ve heard of you guys. Honored to finally get to meet you!” Craig exclaimed, sounding excited and coolly casual at the same time as he fiddled around with a wrench in his hands. “Yeah, you guys are almost as famous as our king!”
“And…what of your queen?” I asked.
“Huh? Oh, right, I guess you haven’t heard yet; our brave king has been missing in action for a little while now. Actually, I’m surprised you haven’t heard yet. Big news around here,” Craig said.
Brave…king?! I thought their queen was the fighter! What is going on here?!
“Such a shame; KingChessmon was a real legend around here. Without him, our queen’s been all sad; kinda disheartening, really,” Craig sighed.
“W-Wait…I thought it was the queen who was the brave fighter,” Giselle said.
“Ha! Who’ve you been gossiping with, cutie? The queen’s a coward! I mean, she’s a total sweetheart and all, but a raindrop in a rainstorm could scare QueenChessmon!” Craig laughed. “But anyway, since the king’s gone missing — probably during some heroic battle — QueenChessmon hasn’t exactly been high-spirited, you know?”
“Yes, I can understand that. But, will the queen be willing to visit with us?” I asked.
“Oh, sure; I’ve actually heard her say she’s wanted to meet with you for quite some time now, even before the king’s gone missing. C’mon.” In a swift motion, Craig fastened his wrench to his belt, and began to lead us to the ‘scrap-heap’ he mentioned earlier.
“Wait, just like that?” Celtinemon asked. “No…waiting in line, or protocol, or anything…?”
“Nah; Cherifia is rather laid back, it’s mostly Machine Digimon here, so extra security isn’t necessary,” Craig said, shoving open the large metal doors before him, and were greeted by a small group of Digimon. “…Ah! Speak of the Devimon, here are some of those Machine Digimon! The big blue guy over there? That’s my own partner, Ballistamon!”
“Hey, who’re these guys? Here to see the queen?” the Ballistamon asked. Around him, a MetalMamemon, BishopChessmon, and RookChessmon all glanced up at us.
“That’s the story; mercenaries from Lachesis,” Craig answered.
“…Are you certain of their story?” the BishopChessmon asked. “I’ve heard of their guild, but how certain are you that they are from the mercenary guild? You should exude more caution, Craig.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it; if Craig thinks it’s them, then they probably are the real deal!” Ballistamon added.
“…You two are fools. Without our king, our queen is our kingdom’s last line of defense! Should something befall her, Cherifia will fall into utter chaos!” BishopChessmon yelled. “With Examon away as well, we are all there is to protect our queen!”
“Calm yourself, older brother,” RookChessmon said calmly. “If they have business with our queen, we should let them by. Nothing ill will befall her or Cherifia by simply allowing that.”
“Hmph…I’m surrounded by witless fools,” BishopChessmon sighed, lowering his head.
“Oh, don’t be like that! Just let ‘em see the queen already! If it’s something important, then we’re just delaying them for no good reason!” MetalMamemon said. “Go on! The queen’s right in that room over there! Metal Smirk Bomb!” MetalMamemon pointed his arm at a pair of large metal doors, and blasted them open.
“M-MetalMamemon! Why in the Goddess’s name would you do something like that?!” BishopChessmon asked.
“Don’t worry; those doors are old and worn down. Something like that won’t break them! If anything, I probably fixed ‘em!” MetalMamemon exclaimed.
“That’s not what I meant! The queen is beyond those doors! What if you had hit her?!” BishopChessmon screamed.
“…Just go in. The others will keep arguing for a while,” RookChessmon sighed.
“My knights are arguing again? Whatever could be the problem this time?” A tall Digimon stepped through smoldering doors MetalMamemon had blasted.
“M-My queen! How fare you on this day?” BishopChessmon asked quickly, immediately bowing before the Digimon after he had finished firing an attack at MetalMamemon.
“This is QueenChessmon?” I asked.
“Yup, the one and only,” Craig said. “You wanted to see her? Well, here she is.”
“I heard you speaking from the other room, even before MetalMamemon was kind enough to open the doors,” QueenChessmon said. Her voice was calm and gentle, and the manner with which she carried herself, from her voice to her graceful movements and mannerisms all befitting a queen. “You are from Lachesis, aren’t you?”
“Y-Yes, milady; um…I’m not really sure where to begin,” I said quietly.
“Take your time, my dear; I’m sure there’s plenty of time,” QueenChessmon said gently.
“Well, um, the thing is, we really don’t,” I said. “Have you heard of IceDevimon before? We’re afraid he might be coming after you and the other royals. We wanted to come here before anything bad happened.”
“…IceDevimon? He’s really on his way?” QueenChessmon asked.
“More or less. The truth is, they’re after a specific gemstone that may be in your possession,” Reapermon said.
“A…gemstone? I don’t have anything like that. But, why would the legendary IceDevimon be after something like that?” QueenChessmon asked.
“We aren’t too sure of the details yet, I’m afraid; there’s some kind ancient magic involved with them that IceDevimon is after, and we think all the royals of Celosia Province may have one,” I said. “Emperor Tso Lan had one; he asked that we protect it from his errant brother.”
“A Digimon called Anubismon first alerted us to the presence of the magic within him, and that IceDevimon would soon go after them,” Reapermon added.
“…I see. Well, as I said earlier, I haven’t got any sort of gemstone in my possession,” QueenChessmon. “…There is a possibility that my husband may have had one…”
“Do you mean KingChessmon?” Mia asked.
“Indeed, young lady; as you may have heard, KingChessmon has gone missing after, well, going into battle,” QueenChessmon said unsteadily.
I wonder if she knows about him…If she does, then she may very well have been working for Daemon as well!
“…My lady…Just how much do you really know about your husband?” Reapermon asked. “There is such kindness in your voice…I cannot believe that you would be involved with someone like Daemon.”
“Daemon…? Who might that be?” QueenChessmon asked.
Hm…She seems genuinely unaware of him. I guess she hasn’t heard his name before after all. That’s a relief…
The tall Digimon glanced over at her knights, who had all gone back to arguing amongst themselves the moment their queen started speaking to us. “…Since you are outsiders, you may know this, but…My husband is rather…cowardly. I am often away on missions to help those in need.”
“Yes, that’s what we’ve heard, but we were told the opposite by one of your knights,” I said.
“Indeed…That is the story KingChessmon has been feeding to the public,” QueenChessmon said. “He’s been telling all of our knights and people that he’s the one going around helping others, despite his true, hidden nature. I never really minded; I was never in it for the fame.”
“That sounds about right; Lizzy told me that KingChessmon was really wimpy,” Mia said.
“Yes; this is a rather…accurate way of putting it,” QueenChessmon sighed. “I never knew why he did it, and I never once questioned him. You know…I just don’t know what to make of his extended absence. But, now that you’re telling me IceDevimon may be involved, I’m beginning to understand further. I believe it may be possible that my husband may have one of those gemstones you earlier mentioned.”
“Really?! Are you certain of this?!” Reapermon asked.
“Absolutely not; I only stated it as a possibility,” QueenChessmon said. “Since he’s been gone for so long, I’d write off anything as being possible…even his death.”
“His death…?”
“…You must understand, my dear, that my husband and I were not bound by marriage for the sake of love. Our marriage was arranged for some political stunt by our parents, and we’ve never even had children. Now do you understand why I spend so much time away? I’d rather help people than spend my time with some man who doesn’t love me,” QueenChessmon said quietly. “…I’m sorry…I don’t have any valuable information to offer you, Lachesis. Please, forgive me for failing you…”
“QueenChessmon, you’ve done nothing of the sort. Please, don’t apologize for a lack of information. But, with IceDevimon running on the loose, I must ask that you be careful from here on,” I said.
“Yes…I will. And I wish you luck on your search for the gemstones,” QueenChessmon said.
Zelda Kasuto
Massive buildings tore themselves across the nearby horizon with their bizarre shapes, several of them appearing to be leafless trees rather than construction of mankind. We had crossed over into the border of Cherifia Territory just the other day. It was quite warm, almost as hot as the desert kingdom due to the sun reflecting off the many metallic buildings and into the land. In fact, the majority of the population for this territory consisted of Machine and Android Digimon like Andromon. There weren’t very many Humans, and many of them were mechanics in order to assist the mechanical Digimon with whatever malfunctions they might have.
“This place is like a maze,” Statuedramon said. Around us, Mia, Giselle, Celtinemon, and Reapermon all nodded in agreement. “We’ll have to be careful; none of us have been here before, and there aren’t any cities. It’s like this whole territory is one big city…”
“Thanks to our connection with Omnimon, we were always able to count on Cherifia as an ally, but we’ve still never met the king and queen,” I said. “QueenChessmon and KingChessmon…”
“W-Wait…KingChessmon? Are you sure?” Mia asked. “Hold on…Lizzy told me that she fought against him! Back when we were fighting against Daemon, she fought against him with Eleanora and Sparrow! Is that guy really the king of this place?!”
“Yes…I’ve heard a rumor that the king of Cherifia has been missing for a while; no doubt his alliance with Daemon is to blame,” I said. “Was KingChessmon killed in that battle?”
“No; Lizzy said he just ran away. He was too much of a coward to stay and fight,” Mia said.
“That makes sense; tales of the queen’s valor has spread far and wide throughout the kingdoms,” Reapermon said. “QueenChessmon herself travels just as far to help even total strangers from all kinds of perilous situations.”
“Wow…she sounds just like Lucia!” Giselle said in awe.
“Yeah; except she doesn’t have a violent streak like our Lucy,” Mia sighed. “I’ve heard that she’s as nice and gentle as Larraine!”
“She is; a real hero, that queen. Bold and caring,” Reapermon said sadly.
“Is something wrong, Reapermon?” I asked.
“…You’ll understand when we reach the castle,” Reapermon responded.
“Castle? There is no castle. The queen lives alone in this scrap-heap of iron you see before you.” A tall man, muscular and shirtless, walked up to our group.
“M-May I ask for your name?” I asked. And…did he say the queen lives alone? Everything’s coming together, slowly and steadily… except more slow and less steady. How annoying…
“Yeah. The name’s Craig; part of the Cherifia Royal Army,” the man said, adjusting the violet bandana covering his raven hair. “The queen’s inside right now. Did you have an appointment to see her?”
“We do not, but it is important that we speak with her,” Reapermon said. “We are representatives from the mercenary guild Lachesis.”
“Ah, yeah, I’ve heard of you guys. Honored to finally get to meet you!” Craig exclaimed, sounding excited and coolly casual at the same time as he fiddled around with a wrench in his hands. “Yeah, you guys are almost as famous as our king!”
“And…what of your queen?” I asked.
“Huh? Oh, right, I guess you haven’t heard yet; our brave king has been missing in action for a little while now. Actually, I’m surprised you haven’t heard yet. Big news around here,” Craig said.
Brave…king?! I thought their queen was the fighter! What is going on here?!
“Such a shame; KingChessmon was a real legend around here. Without him, our queen’s been all sad; kinda disheartening, really,” Craig sighed.
“W-Wait…I thought it was the queen who was the brave fighter,” Giselle said.
“Ha! Who’ve you been gossiping with, cutie? The queen’s a coward! I mean, she’s a total sweetheart and all, but a raindrop in a rainstorm could scare QueenChessmon!” Craig laughed. “But anyway, since the king’s gone missing — probably during some heroic battle — QueenChessmon hasn’t exactly been high-spirited, you know?”
“Yes, I can understand that. But, will the queen be willing to visit with us?” I asked.
“Oh, sure; I’ve actually heard her say she’s wanted to meet with you for quite some time now, even before the king’s gone missing. C’mon.” In a swift motion, Craig fastened his wrench to his belt, and began to lead us to the ‘scrap-heap’ he mentioned earlier.
“Wait, just like that?” Celtinemon asked. “No…waiting in line, or protocol, or anything…?”
“Nah; Cherifia is rather laid back, it’s mostly Machine Digimon here, so extra security isn’t necessary,” Craig said, shoving open the large metal doors before him, and were greeted by a small group of Digimon. “…Ah! Speak of the Devimon, here are some of those Machine Digimon! The big blue guy over there? That’s my own partner, Ballistamon!”
“Hey, who’re these guys? Here to see the queen?” the Ballistamon asked. Around him, a MetalMamemon, BishopChessmon, and RookChessmon all glanced up at us.
“That’s the story; mercenaries from Lachesis,” Craig answered.
“…Are you certain of their story?” the BishopChessmon asked. “I’ve heard of their guild, but how certain are you that they are from the mercenary guild? You should exude more caution, Craig.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it; if Craig thinks it’s them, then they probably are the real deal!” Ballistamon added.
“…You two are fools. Without our king, our queen is our kingdom’s last line of defense! Should something befall her, Cherifia will fall into utter chaos!” BishopChessmon yelled. “With Examon away as well, we are all there is to protect our queen!”
“Calm yourself, older brother,” RookChessmon said calmly. “If they have business with our queen, we should let them by. Nothing ill will befall her or Cherifia by simply allowing that.”
“Hmph…I’m surrounded by witless fools,” BishopChessmon sighed, lowering his head.
“Oh, don’t be like that! Just let ‘em see the queen already! If it’s something important, then we’re just delaying them for no good reason!” MetalMamemon said. “Go on! The queen’s right in that room over there! Metal Smirk Bomb!” MetalMamemon pointed his arm at a pair of large metal doors, and blasted them open.
“M-MetalMamemon! Why in the Goddess’s name would you do something like that?!” BishopChessmon asked.
“Don’t worry; those doors are old and worn down. Something like that won’t break them! If anything, I probably fixed ‘em!” MetalMamemon exclaimed.
“That’s not what I meant! The queen is beyond those doors! What if you had hit her?!” BishopChessmon screamed.
“…Just go in. The others will keep arguing for a while,” RookChessmon sighed.
“My knights are arguing again? Whatever could be the problem this time?” A tall Digimon stepped through smoldering doors MetalMamemon had blasted.
“M-My queen! How fare you on this day?” BishopChessmon asked quickly, immediately bowing before the Digimon after he had finished firing an attack at MetalMamemon.
“This is QueenChessmon?” I asked.
“Yup, the one and only,” Craig said. “You wanted to see her? Well, here she is.”
“I heard you speaking from the other room, even before MetalMamemon was kind enough to open the doors,” QueenChessmon said. Her voice was calm and gentle, and the manner with which she carried herself, from her voice to her graceful movements and mannerisms all befitting a queen. “You are from Lachesis, aren’t you?”
“Y-Yes, milady; um…I’m not really sure where to begin,” I said quietly.
“Take your time, my dear; I’m sure there’s plenty of time,” QueenChessmon said gently.
“Well, um, the thing is, we really don’t,” I said. “Have you heard of IceDevimon before? We’re afraid he might be coming after you and the other royals. We wanted to come here before anything bad happened.”
“…IceDevimon? He’s really on his way?” QueenChessmon asked.
“More or less. The truth is, they’re after a specific gemstone that may be in your possession,” Reapermon said.
“A…gemstone? I don’t have anything like that. But, why would the legendary IceDevimon be after something like that?” QueenChessmon asked.
“We aren’t too sure of the details yet, I’m afraid; there’s some kind ancient magic involved with them that IceDevimon is after, and we think all the royals of Celosia Province may have one,” I said. “Emperor Tso Lan had one; he asked that we protect it from his errant brother.”
“A Digimon called Anubismon first alerted us to the presence of the magic within him, and that IceDevimon would soon go after them,” Reapermon added.
“…I see. Well, as I said earlier, I haven’t got any sort of gemstone in my possession,” QueenChessmon. “…There is a possibility that my husband may have had one…”
“Do you mean KingChessmon?” Mia asked.
“Indeed, young lady; as you may have heard, KingChessmon has gone missing after, well, going into battle,” QueenChessmon said unsteadily.
I wonder if she knows about him…If she does, then she may very well have been working for Daemon as well!
“…My lady…Just how much do you really know about your husband?” Reapermon asked. “There is such kindness in your voice…I cannot believe that you would be involved with someone like Daemon.”
“Daemon…? Who might that be?” QueenChessmon asked.
Hm…She seems genuinely unaware of him. I guess she hasn’t heard his name before after all. That’s a relief…
The tall Digimon glanced over at her knights, who had all gone back to arguing amongst themselves the moment their queen started speaking to us. “…Since you are outsiders, you may know this, but…My husband is rather…cowardly. I am often away on missions to help those in need.”
“Yes, that’s what we’ve heard, but we were told the opposite by one of your knights,” I said.
“Indeed…That is the story KingChessmon has been feeding to the public,” QueenChessmon said. “He’s been telling all of our knights and people that he’s the one going around helping others, despite his true, hidden nature. I never really minded; I was never in it for the fame.”
“That sounds about right; Lizzy told me that KingChessmon was really wimpy,” Mia said.
“Yes; this is a rather…accurate way of putting it,” QueenChessmon sighed. “I never knew why he did it, and I never once questioned him. You know…I just don’t know what to make of his extended absence. But, now that you’re telling me IceDevimon may be involved, I’m beginning to understand further. I believe it may be possible that my husband may have one of those gemstones you earlier mentioned.”
“Really?! Are you certain of this?!” Reapermon asked.
“Absolutely not; I only stated it as a possibility,” QueenChessmon said. “Since he’s been gone for so long, I’d write off anything as being possible…even his death.”
“His death…?”
“…You must understand, my dear, that my husband and I were not bound by marriage for the sake of love. Our marriage was arranged for some political stunt by our parents, and we’ve never even had children. Now do you understand why I spend so much time away? I’d rather help people than spend my time with some man who doesn’t love me,” QueenChessmon said quietly. “…I’m sorry…I don’t have any valuable information to offer you, Lachesis. Please, forgive me for failing you…”
“QueenChessmon, you’ve done nothing of the sort. Please, don’t apologize for a lack of information. But, with IceDevimon running on the loose, I must ask that you be careful from here on,” I said.
“Yes…I will. And I wish you luck on your search for the gemstones,” QueenChessmon said.